32, Finasteride for 1 year, Just Do It

[DrSeuss]

My hair started receding/thinning when I turned 27ish. It was a slow process and by the time I turned 29 I started looking into options. The reason I wanted to make a brief post was because the first time I considered finasteride, I was scared to death because of everything you read online. You don’t fully realize that you’re ALWAYS going to see a vast amount of negative experiences because those are the people most upset and it’s understandably a good way to vent. The other 98% of people are just taking the pill and getting on with their life.

At 29 I went to a hair specialist and he even gave me all of his statistics which was very encouraging. He said in over 20 years of practicing, only 3-4% of his patients that have taken finasteride got negative side effects and they all subsided when stopping the treatment. Unfortunately I got so caught up and scared reading all of the awful stories that I decided against it. Flash forward 2 years and my hair is thinner and slowly receded more. Many people say “just shave it, it’s better”. But I like my hair. I love styling it, I love spiking it up, I love the way it looks on me. Some people look great bald, I even used one of those apps once to see what I would look like bald, and WOOF. Maybe when I’m 60 I won’t care, but right now hell no.

I talked to my wife for a long time about the potential side effects and she understood how much it affected my mood to be balding and believed in the science. One of the best decisions of my life, only wish I made it 2 years sooner. I’m not saying that other people are making up side effects, but I can speak from my own experience and being one of the fortunate 97% or whatever the number is should give a lot of people confidence. Zero side effects, if anything I swear I got hornier after starting finasteride. My sperm isn’t watery, no ball aches, no man boobs, no trouble exercising, etc. you just pop the pill in the morning and forget about it. My Dr told me if you are going to experience any sides it will be in the first month or two. I’ve been on it now for about 16 months and my hair has at a minimum completely stopped receding/thinning, I see very few hairs fall out, and I do believe it has gotten a little thicker and healthier looking. It’s not a magic cure, but it’s still the best option out there today.

I just wish I read more positive stories while I was considering starting treatment and my hope is this helps those being bogged down by all the noise. At the end of the day you have to feel comfortable and if taking the pill will make you lose sleep then don’t do it. Hope everyone is staying safe during this crazy time and best of luck in all of your journeys